I captured a very interesting image this morning and it made me think about how so many photographers are too quick to leave a location without waiting to see what develops. I thought you may want this for the blog so I wrote up my thoughts on the subject.

Slow down, you move too fast. You got to make the morning last.  Simon and Garfunkel

A lot has been said and written about waiting until after the sun sets to capture the best color and the strongest images. Very good advice indeed but what about shooting sunrises?

If you follow this logic in reverse it would then make sense to arrive at your location before the sun comes up. After all without the glaring, bright fireball burning a hole in your camera’s sensor you should be able to capture some very dramatic light bouncing off or through the clouds.

That does assume that there are some clouds. In both sunrises and sunsets, clouds can be one of the most important components of your image. But with sunrises clouds can make for some very interesting images after the sun comes up (but not too high in the sky).

The above image that I took on September 5th of a sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean was taken from Amelia Island. I was there before sun up, took my shots, waited for just the right light and ended up with a few good images.

When I was finished I paused, sitting on a bench with my camera still on the tripod, to just take in the beauty. As I was sitting there the clouds opened up shining a shaft of light down on the ocean below. But what made this very unusual was the cloud formation in the center of the frame. It was a cloud in the shape of a cross. To me, that makes this image very special. If I left right after the sunrise I would not have had the opportunity to capture this image.

The image was taken with a Nikon Df with a Nikon 28-300 lens. 1/125 sec, f/8, ISO 100, 180mm. edited in LR5

The lesson in this is to be patient. Slow down. Get there before the sunrise/sunset and stay afterward. Wait for the unusual and sometimes you will be rewarded.
—- Michael Ritter

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About lensluggers

Nature photographers in Great Smoky Natl Park area, Lens Luggers enjoying travel and photography. Shoot'n fool who have a good time and like to share what they do. Go to www.lensluggerworld.com